"Brother Tian, the Grand Elder was a member of the Ye Family, after all. I want to bury him! It's the only way I'll feel even a little bit better." Ye Feifei looked at Ye Tian as she spoke, afraid he would be unhappy with her for saying so.
"Feifei, I understand! If it has to be done, then let me do it." Ye Tian smiled faintly, then drew his Black Glaze Sword and struck the ground. A powerful wave of Sword Qi instantly erupted from the blade's tip.
BANG! A large crater appeared in the ground, sending dirt flying everywhere. Ye Tian quickly flashed in front of the Grand Elder's corpse and kicked it into the pit. More than half of the airborne dirt then fell back into the hole, saving him the trouble of burying it.
Ye Feifei stood to the side without a word. 'Ye Tian is only doing this for my sake. Why else would he bother burying an enemy who tried to kill him?'
Ye Tian swung his sword twice more at the edge of the crater, causing the dirt to completely fill the pit and form a mound like a grave. Only then did he stop.
"Feifei, that's that. We can't very well erect a tombstone for him, can we? I know you have a lot of questions for me. I'll explain everything slowly once we're back in the cave," Ye Tian said.
Ye Feifei wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words before they left her lips. She nodded, then quickly turned and walked away, clearly a little upset.
Ye Tian hurried to catch up and walk beside her, with the Eight-winged Golden Scale Python trailing behind. Before long, the two of them returned to the cave.
"Feifei, are you upset that I didn't tell you I have the Dragon Pearl?" Ye Tian asked her softly.
"No, I'm not. I knew you must have had your reasons for not telling me. Actually, I have a secret I haven't told you, either. I trust you won't blame me for it!" said Ye Feifei.
Ye Tian was momentarily stunned. "You have a secret, too? What is it? But if it's not convenient to talk about, I won't ask."
'But I'm sure Feifei's secret is about the Divine Phoenix Feather inside her. That's the only thing that could be considered a true secret. I just never expected she'd known about it all this time.'
"It's nothing I can't talk about, really. It seems I have a feather from a Phoenix Divine Beast inside my body. This feather is filled with Energy, but it's currently sealed. Once I break the seal, I'll be able to inherit the legacy of the Phoenix Race," Ye Feifei explained.
After speaking, she deliberately watched Ye Tian's expression, unsure if he would believe her words.
But Ye Tian's face showed no surprise; instead, he seemed quite calm. "Feifei, I believe you'll be able to break that seal one day! When did you find out you had this Phoenix Feather inside you?"
"It started after you came to the Ye Family. One night, I was half-asleep when I sensed a beautiful woman speaking to me in my mind. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, though."
"It happened again for the next few nights, which made me feel something was unusual. I realized it probably wasn't a dream. So one night, I deliberately cleared my mind of all distracting thoughts and focused all my Heart Power on listening to what the woman was saying."
"This time, I heard her clearly. She said she was an ultimate expert of the Phoenix Race. During a great war long ago where gods fell, she left behind a single Phoenix Feather in this world. Whoever obtained this feather would receive the Phoenix legacy."
"But the Energy within the feather is incredibly powerful. With my current strength, it's impossible for me to absorb it. Only someone who possesses a Dragon Pearl can help me."
"Actually, I've known for a long time that you have the Dragon Pearl; I just didn't want to ask you about it. The first time we met, I knew you were the one I was looking for, because in that moment, I actually felt the Divine Phoenix Feather inside me twitch slightly."
"The woman had told me that it would only react when it encountered someone with a Dragon Pearl. And on that day, it was just the two of us, so I concluded that you must be the one who possessed it."
"That's why I gave you the Celestial Melody Pill and the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique. The beautiful woman told me that to break the Barrier inside me, I had to fall in love with you and become your woman. That's why I did everything I could to get close to you."
"Brother Tian, will you blame me for being a calculating woman? The truth is, I had a very good feeling about you from the moment I saw you. Even if it wasn't for this whole thing with the Divine Phoenix Feather, I'm sure I would have fallen in love with you anyway!"
"The beautiful woman never appeared again after I met you. She only told me that she was a sliver of Divine Sense left inside the Divine Phoenix Feather. If I want to see her again, I have to break the Barrier around the Divine Phoenix Feather in my body," Ye Feifei said slowly, her expression shifting between happiness and disappointment.
Hearing her story moved Ye Tian deeply. 'It's as if this was all preordained by fate. Neither I nor Ye Feifei are ordinary people; we must both have important destinies to fulfill. Since we've been brought together, we should cherish each other even more.'
At this moment, he finally understood why Ye Feifei had taken such good care of him. 'Although her initial motive wasn't pure, the fact that she's being completely honest with me now proves that she truly has me in her heart—and her feelings run very, very deep.'
"Feifei, I understand your difficulties. I don't blame you; in fact, I'm grateful to you. You're the one who helped me move on from Ye Shixue's betrayal. You're the one who gave me the will to fight and made me truly understand the importance of loving someone!" Ye Tian said.
"Brother Tian... thank you!" Ye Feifei said, her voice choked with emotion. In a flash, she threw herself into Ye Tian's arms.
Ye Tian gently wrapped his arms around her. This time, however, the Pure Yang Qi in his body remained completely calm, not stirring in the slightest.
The two of them embraced quietly for a long time, as if listening to each other's heartbeats. Neither spoke, but in that moment, their bond seemed to deepen infinitely…
A long while passed before they finally let go. Their eyes were filled with love for one another. "Feifei, since we managed to find each other in this vast world, we should cherish each other all the more! Our strength is still too weak right now, so we must work even harder on our Cultivation."
"Okay! There's still some time before Linyuan Academy starts enrolling new students. Let's use this time to raise our Power Level by another Layer. It's the only way we'll be able to survive in a place like Linyuan Academy, which is filled with talented people," Ye Feifei said with a serious expression.
Ye Tian nodded. "Then let's hurry up and start our Cultivation! Oh, right, I forgot to ask you something. How do you absorb these Spirit Stones? I've never absorbed the Energy from a Spirit Stone before!"
Ye Feifei giggled upon hearing this. "Brother Tian, you're so silly! How can you not even know that? It's the most basic knowledge for a Martial Artist!"
Ye Tian's face flushed. 'Getting called out by Feifei like that really does make me feel stupid,' he thought. "Well, just tell me how to do it! I want to quickly recover the Dragon Spiritual Power I used up!"
Ye Feifei then told Ye Tian how to absorb Spirit Stones, and the two of them began their Cultivation in the cave…
PS: Xiao Xiao knows I've kept you all waiting. My father was in a car accident last night, and I spent the whole night at the hospital. Thank God it's nothing serious, he just needs a few days of rest. But then I came home and found the internet was out again today. I'm a total mess! I hope my readers can understand. I'm posting this update from an internet cafe! I have drafts saved but I can't even access them. So frustrating! (I have no reason to lie about my own father's health, and I don't want people flaming me! If you support Xiao Xiao, please continue to do so! If you don't, please leave! We're friends, and friends should be understanding of each other, shouldn't they?)